Mechanism for cutting potato chips or the like



' April 211194Z 5 D. A. BARNE 2,280,053

` MEcHANIsM Fon CUTTING PoTATo CHIPS' 0R THE LIKEl Filed April 15, 1959 IN VENTOR 5dr/Zes.

BY 2747/4/47 t n 5 l ATogNEm cutting potato chipsV or the like. v

Patented Apr. 21, `1942 I e azsaos 1 y jMEcnANrsM Fon CUTTING forero cinrs OR THE LIKE ` "Donald A. Barnes, kron, OliiofA r App1iaticn Aprilia, 1939, serial Nlzerts" I 2 clams. (nel. 14s- 125) The "inventionrelates cuttingfmechanisrns and it has partlcularrelatio tor a mechanism for `Potato chips are `known to everyone and it is hardly necessary to state thatthey `comprise thin slices of potatoes, which, after cooking, are crispy i`n,`character. The present` invention ,is conl cerned principally `with the slicing of a potato which is to provide a chip corrugated in form.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple `mechanism for cutting slices or chips from potatoes, vwherein `each chip or slice has corrugations on its opposite sides. with the `corrugations on `one side traversing the corrugations on theotherside. f .fr l U i Another object' of the inventionisfto provide a mechanism of this general characterfwhich cuts the slices or 4chips in a uniform manner, so that the finished product will be of uniferm character and thickness.

y *Other `objects `of the invention will become apparentrorn` the following speciflcation,` from the drawing'` relating thereto,` and' from the claims hereinafterfset` forth. e p

N For a better understanding of theinvention, reference may be had to the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1` is an elevational view, partly in cross- "Atfits upper end, the stub portion I8 projects upwardly through a cover releasably mounted on the upper end Aof theV base Ill and above the cover,

the stub portionterminates in a; smaller, smooth portion which is provided with a small pinion 21 that is driven thereby. This pinion meshes with a `ring gear 29' that is fixed to the outer surface of a sleeve hopper 30 which is turnably disposed 1 in an` opening 3|. in cover 25. `For retaining the section, illustrating a mechanism constructed according toene `form of the invention; f, i

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View, taken substati-l tially along the'1ine,2'2 of Fig. l; e

Fig. 3 is a detail `view illustrating a rotarycutter` disc employed in the mechanism, `with the cutter blade attached thereto;

Fig. fi is a cross-sectionalview Aon a` larger scale taken substantially along the line ie-4 of Fig. 3; and Figf illustrates'cn a larger "scale -a potato chip sliced from albpotato bythe mechanism.

Referring" to Fig. l; the mechanism comprises a base Il)` having a verticallyarranged motor II therein which is supported on aplate I2 secured to the lower side of the baseby screws I3. At its upperuend," the motor ll is anchored to the sides of the base by brackets I4. Ifhe'upperend of the motor shaft is tapered, as indicated at I5,` and this` tapered end projects into a socket element I6 and is keyed thereto as indicated at I1. This socket element has a smallerthreaded stub por'- tion I8 that projects through a central opening in a metal disc 2U and for holding vthe disc on the stub portion, a nut 2| is threaded on the stub portion into contact with the upper side of the disc. A drive pin V23 drivingly connects the disc and socket member.

I tato during the succeeding action of the cutter. I

sleeve inposition and also for covering the gear and pinion; acover 35 is provided that is secured by screws to .Vthefiipper side oi the cover y25. It willbe noted that the covers 25` and 35h57` substantially contacting lthe ring gear, hold the sleeve `in vertical position." Y

The .lowerl end of the sleeve 30 is disposed above the disczll so.` that a potato 31 in thesleeve will rest ontheuppersurface of the disc. For the purposeof cutting slices or chips from` `the potato, ,the disc, as bestshown by Figures 3 ande, has a cutter blade2i!! secured thereto andthis blade, has a .blade portion 39 projecting upwardly through an opening 40 `in the disc. The blade is secured to the disc by means of a flat portion disposed at the underside ofthe disc which "is secured to the; latter by means ofscrews 43-th-at l have substantially hat heads at their upper sides so as to eliminate interferenceof the disc movement along the under side of the, potato. The

cutting portion of the blade is corrugated, as will be best seen in Figs. 1 and 3, and the bottoms of the corrugations termhiate substantially along a line indicated at4 5U in Fig; `4:, so that the bottoms of such corrugationsare disposed in spaced relati'onute the top side of the disc 20. The cutter blade :is tapered upvvardlythrough the opening Vlill inthe disc and atits front side is so arranged that slices 'cutfromthegpotato move downwardly betweenthe .underside of the blade and the ade vancingisidefof theopening 40. For receiving the `chips so.` sliced from the potato, an inclined plate 41 is disposed Within the base and this plate leads to a discharge"` opening 48, whereby the slices are dischargedto'the outside.

The partsfare so `constructed and arranged that"A during each revolution of thedisc 20, the sleeve ill)` turns one A"quarter of arevolutioniand from this it will beseenthat the corrugations cut in the bottom side ofthe potato during one cutting movement of the blade are disposed approximately at right angles to the corrugations that will be formed in the lower side of the po- It follows from this that the corrugations formed on one side of theslice removed from the potato will be disposed substantially at right angles to the corrugations formed at the other side of the slice. While it would be possible to hold the potato stationary during the short interval the cutter is passing through the potato, the device works satisfactorily even though the potato is turning very slowly, during which curving of the corrugations occurs.

The depth of the corrugations and the location of the bottoms thereof at the line indicated at 50, in spaced relation to the upper side of the disc, insures that the slices or chips Will be unitary and not separated. While the depth of the slice may be varied by raisingthe line 50 de- Iining the bottoms of the corrugations inl the cutter, it is desired that the thickness of the tion. By this is meant, that the bottoms of the corrugations in the upper side of the chip and the bottoms of the corrugations in the lower side of the chip willV intersect and thus form openings at the points of intersection. The size of these openings may be varied by varying the thickness of. the chip, so as tobring the upper and lower corrugated surfaces closer or farther apart. If the corrugations are too far apart, or, in other Words, if the thickness of the chips is too great, the bottoms of the corrugations on opposite sides of the chip will not intersect to form openings, while if the thickness of the chips is insulcient, the chip would be formed in separated sectors.

In order to insure rotation of the potato with the sleeve and at the same time provide a means for applying downward pressure on the potato, as may be desired, a plunger isvertically slidable in the sleeve and this plunger includes a lower section 52, such as constructed of wood, an in termediate rubber section 53 having frictional contact with the sides of the sleeve, and an upper rigid section 54. Bolts 55 connect the sections.y For moving the plunger upwardly or downwardly, a reciprocatory rod 56 is provided which is fastened to the inner race 51 of a ball bearing, the outer race 58 of which is xed to the plunger section 54. It is to be understood that the parts are constructed and arranged to effect movement of the plunger upwardly and downwardly by movement of the rod while allowing the sleeve to turn relative to the rod.

Rod 56 is slidable in bearings 60 and 6| retained on cross members 62 and 63 of a bracket having legs 64, 65, and 66 secured to the cover y 25. A handle is connected Ato rod 56 for moving it and this handle has a lateral portion Il which limits downward movement of the plunger by engagement of the hand portion with the bearing 60, so that the plunger will not engage the cutter blade. A spring 'I3 normally urges the rod downwardly so. that the potato is resiliently urged against the disc. t

It is understood that -with the potato resting on the disc 26, the iirst rotation of the cutter severs a chip from the potato and that as soon as the cutter passes through the potato, the latter moves downwardly so as to again rest on the disc surface and be in a position for a succeeding action of the cutter. As the cutter continues its turning movement, the potato is turned, and whenthe cutter again passes through the potato, the corrugations in the cutter blade are at right angles to the corrugations that were formed in the potato during the preceding cutting action.

In Fig. 5, a chip is generally indicated at 'I4 on an enlarged scale. The corrugations at the upper side of the chip are indicated at '15, the corrugations at the lower side at 16, and the t openings at the intersections are indicated at Tl.

Although only one form of the invention has beenv described and illustrated in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for cutting potato chips or the like, comprising a hopper for receiving a potato, means for advancing the potato through the hopper to a discharge point, a rotary disc disposed adjacent the discharge end of the hopper and having a corrugated cutter blade at one point, the parts being arranged so that the potato rests on the disc and is advanced to the disc each time a chip is cut from the potato by the blade, means for turning the hopper about an axis parallel to the rotary axis of the disc,

means for holding the potato in the hopper so.

that it rotates therewith, and means for rotating the hopper and disc in such synchronized relation that the corrugations formed on one side of each slice removed from the potato extend transversely to the corrugations on the opposite side of the slice.

2. A mechanism for cutting potato chips or the like comprising a base, a driving shaft extending upwardly from the base, a rotary disc mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith and having an opening at one point, a corrugated cutter blade mounted on the upper side of the disc adjacent the opening and being adapted to cut sections from a potato as the latter is pressed against said upper side of the disc and the latter is rotated, a side housing wall on the base and extending around the disc and projecting above and below the margin of the disc, a hopper rotatable about a vertical axis and supported by the wall at the upper side of the disc for feeding a potato downwardly to the disc, said housing wall below the disc having an opening beneath the location of the hopper in order to discharge chips, an inclined bottom wall under the disc and extending across the housing, with the wall inclining upwardly from the lower edge oi?` the discharge opening to a point adjacent the diametrically oppositeedge of the disc and Yhaving a central opening through which the shaft extends downwardly, means connected to the lower end of the shaft for driving the latter, and means drivinglyconnecting the upper end4 of the shaft to the hopper'for rotating the lattery simultaneously with the rotation of the disc but at a different speed.

DONALD A. BARNES. 

